Exclusive: How I scripted My Success Story On Film – Celestine ‘Selina’ Gachuhi
Celestine Gachuhi. [PHOTO/ BUSINESS TIMES]
At the age of 22, she is the face of one of the most followed Kenyan telenovelas, Selina. Unknown to many Celestine Gachuhi is also a singer, a model and a beautician. However, she has put to a halt the latter professions to concentrate on her acting career.
In an exclusive interview with Business Times, she terms her journey in film and television as a short one, embroidered with success and fulfillment. She states that it all started in high school where she participated in drama festivals. However, this would only last two years, in her form one and two since her school, Ole Tipis High School, did not allow students to participate in co-curriculum activities past form two.
Her dream glowed internally during her last two years in high school and nothing could snuff it out. The only way to quench it was to get back on stage.
After her form four, she joined acting groups that staged set books in secondary schools. Her first was Jicho Four Productions where her star continued shining.
However, as fate could have it, her stay at Jicho Four was short-lived. Another group, Pace Theatres, called Jicho Four asking for a female character.
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“The description fitted me. I rehearsed for two weeks before appearing on stage. My first show was scaring, but I managed. By the fifth show, I had gained confidence and no one could notice that I was new,” she says.
“I got employed in a salon and managed to work for five months. Despite, the little income I was generating, I still managed to get by owing to the fact that I was not paying rent,” explains Ms Gachuhi.
Despite being a guru in the job, as she puts it, she continued to go for auditions. She loved acting; hence, she could not let the dream sublime in thin air.
Her efforts bore fruits when one day, while still in the salon, she received a call inviting her for a role. She was to do skits as well as motivational speaking in schools. The job was to start immediately, and she was to travel the same night.
She took up the job, for she loved it. She rehearsed her lines and bonded with other characters while on the journey. It was not all in vain. This was her first time to meet established actors like Papa Shirandula, Machachari’s Mama Mercy and Mama Stella. It was like a dream come true for her, and hope for greater things to come. They helped her learn a lot in the film industry during the time they worked together.
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In November 2015, thanks to a friend she had met during the auditions, she made her debut in TV. She was given a role (Waceke) in a Gikuyu play, Gwa Cibu (At the chief’s). The play went for two episodes before she later landed another supporting role in another play by the same production house (Ken TV). She played Stess in the play Uriru wa wendo (Wonders of love).
During this play is when she heard about Selina, but she ignored since she had a role she liked.
“The first time I ignored. The second time, one of my cousins tagged me but I ignored. The third time, a friend we had worked with in Uriru called me and told me that they had done auditions but they had not found Selina. I decided to give it a try,” explains Ms Gachuhi.
“I did not want to tell the director that I was going for auditions, but at the same time I didn’t want to lie. I just told him that I had something important to attend to.”
Interestingly, she was the character the crew was looking for. She got the role of Selina; a naïve village girl without a mother and who gets mistreated by her stepmother. Coincidentally, Ms Gachuhi’s mother passed on in 2006 and she has undergone a lot in the hands of her stepmother. She easily identified with the role since it was reflecting her life experiences.
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Her experience at Selina has been one of the most amazing, as she terms it. Being her first lead role in film, she says both the cast and the crew have been supportive, always giving her the best.
The success of the show has not been without struggles. She had to work for long hours, from six in the morning to late at night. Sometimes she had to sleep on set to ensure she does not come late the following day.
“It is not as easy as it looks. However, having a supportive team makes it easy for me. Sometimes you get sick but you have to do it since you are the face of the show. I remember a time I had a stiff neck but had to go for shooting, otherwise the show would have failed. It takes passion to achieve,” she says.
Despite halting her singing dream, the actress promises that she will be recording her first gospel music song soon. She is also mentoring teens who want to join the film industry.
“In ten years to come I want to be a brand that inspires people. I want to use acting as a stepping stone to inspire people. In ten years to come, I will have broken every ice in the industry and lived beyond everyone’s expectations, by God’s grace,” she adds.
To upcoming artistes, she advises, “Do not compromise your morals for a role. When you go for auditions, do what is right, be professional and most importantly have boundaries even as you pursue your dream.”
On her social life, Ms Gachuhi is taking each day as it comes, keeping herself loyal to her man, when he comes.
The second born in a family of four likes watching movies, listening to music, travelling, swimming, making new friends and is currently learning how to read novels.
The daughter to a senior Sergeant is pursuing a Diploma in Project Planning at the Kenya Institute of Management Studies.
In her parting shot she says, “I am thankful that my passion and effort has not gone to waste. I thank God and all the people who have supported me to help me realise my dream and build my career. I want to show my appreciation by giving hope to people and supporting budding artistes.”
Additional reporting by Anne Agwata.
